Corfu Autumn (and what else we did in September)

autumn sunrise

As always, Corfu in the autumn is stunning.  The transition from summer to fall is complete. 

Still we have the warm days, but suddenly, a rumble and we have the odd thunderstorm... or two days of blustery winds and the surprise rain shower. 

morning light on the acacia tree

The nights are cooler and the days are shorter.

The light is different, and the clouds are spectacular.

It's my favorite time of year, because the sea is warm to swim in, the nights are cool to sleep, and the weather offers a bit of variety, instead of hot sunshine.

My enthusiasm for the time of year is no doubt passed along to our many friends and family, who come to visit.

Our "saint middle son" had planned to go to his cousin's Belgian wedding since it was announced last year.  He decided that he would roll in a vacation as well and, as the fares were good (and the charter flights from Corfu direct with no stop in Athens!!) he opted to sandwich the long weekend wedding between a nice comfy visit to Corfu and arrived on Friday the 3rd of September (oldest son's b'day!).

We all played golf together (he and his father, as well as one historic game with BOTH of his parents!).  We revisited and ate great meals at favorite restaurants, (and visited a few new ones), and  generally ranged between relaxing and playing, which was a luxury for all of us.  He was here for his father's b'day (September the 8th) and a good time was had by all!

Friends from England (who were on the island visiting other friends!) generously came and stayed at the house for five nights and took care of Balou and the cats, as we left for Brussels on Friday morning 10 September.

On our return from Brussels, we managed to cram in the last of the fun with a beach visit (and lobster lunch!) in Prasoudi, as well as a lovely sightseeing tour of the island and even a day's worth of boating - father and son bonding experience- to round off the "sms"s vacation. 

Needless to say, we dreaded the 'let-down' after he left on Friday morning (17 September). 

~~~

While "s-m-s" was here we decided to taste the wine that we'd bottled from last autumn.  We were all quite surprised that it was drinkable.  And even "quite good!" (- well that was from me, because I actually MADE it...)

So we managed to amuse ourselves Sunday, by distributing a bottle each of our homemade wine - made of course, with the able assistance of our wonderful neighbors- to our wonderful neighbors homes!

We went from neighbor's house to neighbor's house Sunday afternoon and passed along the fruits of our labor.

We came home slightly 'cheerful', (taste testing again and again...) and went to bed.  Monday morning we woke up feeling awful, but not from the wine: we both caught a cold and were down and out for a week!

~~~

However,  fate stepped in to lift our recovering spirits, and young friends from the US, in England for a wedding, sent me a message via email and facebook Tuesday (28 September) morning, wondering if we'd be up for some spontaneous houseguests!

They REALLY wanted to charter a sailboat and see some sunshine and Ionian Seas... only problem... they only had a few days... could it happen?  Of course!  

JetAir (or EasyJet, one of them...) arranged itself and we picked them up from the airport on Wednesday (29th September) morning!   They got a quick tour of Corfu town, then we drove to the marina.

They rented a car, and we had a lovely dinner in town. (wherein they snapped this fine - tho dark- picture of T and I, with their camera phone.)

Contacting some good friends of mine, we made an excellent connection and Thursday morning they were on the water in a lovey little sailboat for a reasonable price. (They are both fine sailors and own a sailboat in the States.)

On Friday they rented a power boat and toured the northern beaches of the island and on Saturday they drove all over the north west side of the island and got lost and found their way several times, generally enjoying the mini vacation to the max.

Of course "when it rains, it pours..."  Saturday we had committed ourselves to meeting the parents of a good friend of 'saint middle son' from High School.  They were arriving on a cruise ship and would only be here for the day.  They just wanted to "visit" and see how we managed to amuse ourselves. 

As I knew from previous experience, cruise ship passengers sign up for tours of the island (that of course includes a lot of photo opportunities!) and often a nice lunch with Corfiot specialties. 

So Friday I cooked up three special dishes, and had them all ready to finish cooking on Saturday.  Leftovers wouldn't be a problem as we had our two houseguests!! (conveniently solving what we'd do for dinner on Saturday night!)

Venetian Shipyards photo-op

We gave a wonderful whirlwind tour (with photo ops... AND shopping!) and then drove back home to lay on our lunch spread. 

We got them back to the ship in good time and a fine day was had by all. 

Dinner worked out perfectly, and our houseguests packed up their bags, sad to return but glad of the opportunity.

Sunday morning we dropped them off at the airport for a mid- morning flight, and we went to meet friends for lunch!

~~~

That take us up to 'Old Perithia', which is where we went after we dropped our guests off at the airport!! 

So.  This is how I explain not writing a blog post for the month of September...  I think I need to do less things so I can write more posts.

Or not...